christmas gift. and i stuck it over in the corner and the next year you go, hey, rick, how did you like my gift? and i go, oh, i just got too busy to open it, you'd be offended. and yet many people have celebrated christmas after christmas after christmas and never opened god's gift. the gift of christmas have grace. and that is, no matter who i am, what i've done, where i've gone, there is forgiveness available. i can have my past forgiven, a purpose of living and a home in heaven. and it is a free gift. i receive it by grace. there's a verse in the bible that says, to those who believe and receive, to him he gave the right to become children of god. that's what i think it's all about, believing and receiving. >> pastor rick, happy holidays. >> thank you very much. merry christmas. >> that's all for us. merry christmas. christmas.

from cnn world headquarters in atlanta this is "early start weekend." what do you want to tell congress about the fiscal cliff? we'll have your video messages. the woman accused of pushing a man in front of a subway is now being charged with a hate crime. now she's saying why she did it. wow, a plane crash caught on tape, the story. hind this dash cam video of an exact moment a jet slammed into an overpass. it's sunday, december 30th, good morning, i'm allisison kos. randi kaye is off today. we're going to start this morning in washington where all eyes on capitol hill as lawmakers try to work out on a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. the deadline is less than 48 hours away and as to whether

they can get it done, the president says he's hopeful. >> i'm modestly ll lly optimis an agreement can be achieved. let's make sure that middle class families and the world economy aren't adversely impacted because people can't do their jobs. >> both houses of congress are meeting in a rare sunday session. the house an hour later at 2:00. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin now with the look at a chance for a deal and what's on the table. >> alison, here in washington, there is still hope a deal can be cut in time to avert the fiscal cliff. on saturday, the president was at work here in the white house but all eyes were on the senate where negotiators were trading deal points and revenue figures to try to reach an agreement all sides can stomach. the baseline for the president, any bipartisan bill would have to extend unemployment insurance that would affect some 2 million

americans and increase taxes for the highest income earners. but negotiators can still work out exactly where that tax increase would hit and whether they would halt an increase in the estate tax. in case those discussions break down, the president asked harry reid to prepare a separate bill to put on the floor of the senate that would raise taxes on households that earn $250,000 or more. now, that's really a democratic proposal and you could expect republicans to block it, so, rather than thinking of that as a stop gap measure, probably think of it as a political measure to shift the responsibility for failure on to republicans just before the nation hits the hour of wreckening. alison? >> thanks. lawmakers could vote as early as today and when it happens, you can watch live coverage right here on cnn. the president will continue to plead his case for a deal today. he's making his first appearance

on a sunday talk show in more than three years. he'll be on nbc's "meet the press." he'll call for an immediately vote for congress on a scale-back plan that would only extend middle class tax breaks if the negotiations fail. other news now, second degree murder as a hate crime. that's the charge facing erica menendez. she is the woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway strain on thursday. she says it's a feeling she's had since the september 11th attacks. the second time this month that someone was pushed to death on a new york subway platform. two missing brothers had been found safe and their father is now in police custody. ben and harry cleary were found 250 miles from an atlanta area home after a tipster saw it here on cnn. they were on a planned trip with

their dad but did not return when expected. he'll be charged with felony interference with custody. a tragic scene in california where three people were killed in a small plane crash near san diego. faa official says the plane crashed under unknown circumstances. it was heading to phoenix. an investigation is under way. to massachusetts now, where a snowstorm is pounding the state. boston could see up to eight inches of snow today. the city's mayor has already declared a snow already. a top priority there is getting the roads cleared for public safety. freezing temperatures are in the forecast there for this week. their neighbors to the south in rhode island, also breaking out the shovels this morning. look at this video. about a foot of snow has already fallen in some parts of the state. it's the site of the worst oil spill in u.s. history. now, more than two years later we're getting an upclose look at the wreckage.

there had been reports of a recurring oil sheen in the area, but the coast guard says no leaking oil was found. it was closed and cemented in september of 2010. overseas now where syria is bracing for even more bloodshed after one of its bloodiest days yet in 21 months of civil war. opposition activists say more than half were gunned down in a mass execution. let's go to cnn's mohammed jamjoom. >> after regime forces won a battle, activists say that then servel people there were rounded up and that they were executed by shooting, by stabbing.

we've spoken to doctors in that area that said they looked at bodies after this alleged massacre and other activists who say that at least 200 people were killed as a result of this massacre. we've seen video on syrian state tv showing bodies there on the ground, the syrian government for its part is saying that there was a battle in this area that they went in, that they captured and killed numerous terrorists. we should add that terrorist is the term that the syrian government uses to describe rebel opposition fighters. particularly gruesome. we're talking about a death toll that was reported yesterday of at least 397 people. that's according to the local coordination committees. that's the highest one-day death toll they reported since the conflict began in syria nearly two years ago and in that time, we should mention, over 40,000 people have been killed. alison. >> it really is invecredible.

calling for a cease-fire. yesterday the bloodiest day yet. either possibility either side will actually lay down their guns? >> well, it looks less and less likely as each day goes by. this past week we've seen a fleury of diplomatic activity. then he went to russia yesterday. he was meeting with russian foreign minister. russia is one of the key players of what goes on in syria because they have supported the syrian regime and now it looks like that support may be lessening in the last few weeks but still what you heard yesterday was an appeal, an urgent appeal for these two men for both sides to come together to come to a transitional process in syria and here's more of what he hlav had to say. >> translator: we encourage the syrian leadership to make as clear as possible the declared

readiness with the opposition and to underline that they are open to discuss a wide variety of things in the framework of the geneva agreements reached on june 30th. >> alison, two big problems with this. when it comes to the geneva plan, no idea what role he might play and the opposition has responded to many of these calls saying they're willing to form a transitional government but not willing to work with anybody in the regime. >> they met in moscow yesterday and they're warning the conflict that it's getting more sectarian. what danger does that mean for the mideast? >> it poses a huge danger, alison. no one wants to see it get more sectarian. the lines are only deepening. you're seeing, you're seeing forces like saudi arabia and the region supporting the syrian rebels and you see iran

supporting. syria almost becomes a proxy battlefield and that causes more sectarian tension in syria and then you have the spillover effect. the conflict starts engulfing other nations nearby. here in lebanon you've seen sectarian tensions go on the rise and the factions that support the rebels. and it's a really dire situation and nobody wants to see tensions and every day they seem to be getting stoked more. >> thank you. messages to congress. cnn ireporter sending in their thoughts on the fiscal cliff and the politicians behind the looming crisis. we'll hear from some of them. plus, we're taking a look at the ten most memorable moments of 2012 from around the world. share everything.

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selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do. [ male announcer ] icy hot arthritis lotion. powerful encapsulated menthol gets icy to dull pain, hot to relax it away. power past pain. good morning, d.c. dark there now, but waky, waky our elected leaders. you have only two days ahead of you before that fiscal cliff deadline. hope you're well rested and fed

and dugout from the snow storm yesterday because the clock is ticking down on 2012 and to that deline for avoiding the fiscal cliff, but after weeks of negotiations, patience is running short. here's president obama after his meeting with top political leaders on friday. >> the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is in this town for some reason you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable. why everything always has to wait until last minute. well, we're now at the last minute. the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> and he apparently wasn't kidding. we put out a call for our cnn ireporters to send us their messages to washington and, yes, we got a ton of responses. quite a few of you were frustrate would the lack of

action in washington. this is missy with her take on the men and women in congress. >> this whole fiscal cliff mess shows how incredibly out of touch you are with the way people really live in this country. you are off in la la land and everybody is saying how you are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats who are more interested in being right than in doing the right thing and actually representing the people who elected you. >> and another one that came up came from chris he sent in an opinion with which side needs to give a bit more in his negotiations. >> democrats and republicans need to come together. let's get real. president obama has already given a lot more ground than the republicans have. so, my advice to senator reid and president obama would be try to stop negotiations with republicans who, like spoiled

children, have no interest in compromise. remember who won the election? >> well said. finally, alberto willy sent in this reminder that lawmakers are there to serve everybody and can be voted out if they don't. >> there are not wealthy people or corporations to keep you in office. in that light, please, simply grow up, govern and, most importantly, support middle class policies. >> and you still have time to send in your own ireport. let us know what you think about the fiscal cliff and the actions in washington. record a 20 to 30-second video that start my new year's message to washington is, and then add your message. you may see it featured right here on cnn. a russian plane overshoots a runway and send debris flying on to a busy highway as emergency crews rush to get to survivors. it's all caught on tape. so now i can be in the scene.

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this is incredible video caught on tape. the terrifying moments when a russian plane hurdled to the ground and sent debris crashing on to the ground in moscow. a tire, luggage and even pieces of airplane smashed on to the road hitting a passing car. another driver caughtarc everytg on his dashboard camera. four were killed. the crash is under investigation. 2012 is almost behind us and it's about time to ring in a new year. the last 12 months have been full some of moments we won't forget about any time soon.

cnn's zain verjee takes us on a look back on some of the most important international stories of the year. can you believe it is already the end of the year. actually, the mayan calendar said it would be the end of the world, but, oh, my goodness, look at this. we're still here and we're heading into 2013. there were so many headlines this year, so many important stories of 2012 from conflict, hopelessness to inspiration and hope and we also made sure we had a little bit of fun. take a look. number 10. the queen of england celebrated her diamond jubilee year. it rained on her parade, but it didn't take the sparkle out of the magical moments. millions lined the streets, millions more tuned in for this famous wave. number nine. september 11th in benghazi,

libya. u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans killed in a terror attack on the u.s. diplomatic mission there. american officials first suggested it was spontaneous, sparked by a protest over a controversial anti-muslim film. the white house's handling of the attack became a political hot button. number eight. a political transition in north korea, but no freedom here in the kingdom. king jung-un took over for his father. the west hoped there would be change, but there wasn't. at year's eend it flexed its feck nulogical muscle with its first rocket launch successfully placing a rocket in orbit. number seven, brutality by police and private security was out in the open in south affcuruwhere the killing of minors was captured on cameras. they were protesting, demanding

higher wages. the price they had to pay shocked the world. number six. ten more years. the communist party of china selected new leaders. the secretive process produced a new process an l.a. lakers fan married to a rock star. but china's foreign policies are likely to stay the same, though the new leader's under pressure to deal with corruption and poverty at home. number five. mohammed morsi became president of egypt. as his predecessor, a dictator ousted by his people went on trial from his hospital bed. morsi impressed the west by helping to broker the cease-fire that ended an outbreak of war fare between hamas and israel. he disappointed many by sweeping new powers at home, triggering renewed outbursts of anger in

tahrir square. number four. israel and hamas poured fuel on the fiery unrest in the region. one side firing rockets. the other launching missile strikes against targets in gaza. for the first time, israel felt vulnerable in jerusalem and tel aviv. the site of this bus tack in the waning days of the conflict before the big guns of diplomacy helped broker a cease-fire. number three, in europe greece was the problem child that spent too much, save nothing and threatened to take down the euro. new leadership didn't stop constant violent protests, staged by those facing loss of jobs, pay cuts, higher taxes as their weary government begs for more cash. europe's leaders including the new french president committed to save the euro. it lives on, but for how long? number two. the deadliest month to date as

the assad regime intensified its use of air power. >> one of the questions most asked in 2012, was how much longer can this man hold on to power? assad was under intense pressure to step down. but his regime stepped up the fire power against the opposition. civilians caught in the crossfire. more than 40,000 people have died so far. >> this is, yet, another bread line. >> the opposition fights on making more dramatic gains than ever and gaining pledges of additional support for the international community. number one -- she fought back from the brink of death after being attacked on a school bus. the taliban shocked. she was an outspoken for the education of girls in pakistan. but books won over bullets.

the 15-year-old miraculously survived. she woke up in a british hospital and according to her father, immediately asked for her school books. the world was gripped and inspired by the story of one determined young girl facing down an entire network of armed militants and winning. zain verjee, cnn, london. and be sure to stay with us for more of our year-ending top ten lists. if you want something really special, check out cnn.com for the year in pictures. a great gallery there. all the images that define 2012 at cnn.com. it's the last issue of a news icon. "newsweek" final cover hits the stands tomorrow. we'll have a look at it. have a good night. here you go. you, too.

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welcome back and thanks for starting your morning with us and a special welcome to our troops watching on the american forces network. i'm alison kosik, it's half past the hour. one of the snipers killed in an ambush will be laid to rest today. a 20-year veteran of the webster police department will be buried with honors. a funeral for his partner is scheduled for tomorrow. the gunman killed himself after shooting the firefighters. his neighbor has been arrested in connection with the case, accused of lying about purchasing the rifle used in the attack. and some good news this morning about former president george h.w. bush. we're told he is improving and moved out of the intensive care unit of the houston hospital where he was being treated for an elevated fever. the 41st hospital has been in

the hospital for more than a month now. say good-bye to thumbing through copies of "newsweek" at your doctors office. it will go digital in the new year. you will only be able to download copies of "newsweek" after the 31st. the growing use of tablets continued with weakness in advertising forced the decision. new year's resolutions are a great time to start working out, eating healthier and also a great time to think about your pocketbook and get your finances back on track. i'm joined by mitch reiner. you're an investment adviser at capital investment advisors and your firm, just to give you some street cred. it handles a billion dollars in assets and you're only 32 years old. we can say you know what you're doing. >> everything going on with the fiscal cliff and everything, there's certain issues that everybody faces and you can only

control so much. you can't control what's going on in washington every day. so, what can we do this year? >> here's the thing, we always do these kind of stories at the beginning of the year. how to get our finances in order. anything new and really what, what really can get people? we hear it all the time, all the things we can do. wh can you tell people to sort of incents have them to really get off their and do something? >> there's nothing new. there's nothing revolutionary with what we do. just simple goals to accomplishing those goals. treat yourself like a cash flow budget. understand everybody builds themself a budget for the entire year. how much will i spend on utilities. what happens on a monthly base sns how much cash flow that comes into your bank account every month and once you can know the difference between those two, you can know how much

extra you can save whether it's in the 401(k) or roth in i.r.a. >> what is a life book? you talk about a life book? >> put together a book that has all the pertinent information should something happen to you such as bank accounts, log ins and your insurance proceeds, where your will and your trust information is placed. i had a very good friend and partner who built a life book it was easy for his heirs to go through when something happened to him. >> what is a life will? >> a book that says account numbers. a will just says where i want everything to go if something should happen to me. my life book says how to get in my house to feed my dogs if i get into an accident on my way

home from work. >> where do you put this life book? >> tell a few important people where that book is. if something happens to me, go here. here's where all my information is. >> back to trying to fix our finances. paying our mortgage. one of our biggest expenses. we all heard the advice. you don't want to pay off your mortgage, but to balance your budget knowing that you have that huge expense every month. >> we're talking about this year, 2013. we are an incredible environment to refinance our mortgages and potentially lower how much you pay every single month on that mortgage. a great opportunity. take advantage of it, really go see somebody and figure out how much you can save by refinancing in this historically low interest rate environment. >> what about investments, volatility is happening now because of the fiscal cliff. where do we go for investments? >> i see it every day. whether you're young and have your money in cash because you're scared of what happened in the market in the last decade or older and too much inequities

because you're nearing retirement. sit down with somebody who is completely objective and somebody that can just truly give you honest opinions about where your situation is and make that a plan for this year to get your asset allocation understood and figured out that fits your specific situation. >> gold was all the rage. that rage is settling down a bit, but it's still there. do you invest in gold? >> you need to think about gold as a good currency play. if the dollar should devalue or because of our debt situation or we get downgraded, it's a decent hedge to have in a portfolio assuming the dollars are in play. >> when we talk about investing, going back to stocks. you don't suggest day trading, do you? or how do you make money in this market when we're playing against electronic trading where trades are done in a millisecond and who can play against that? a lot of confidence has come out of the market because the big players and big investors got in control of it. >> don't play the short-term

game. so many opportunities if you know where you are in your life stage and you're saving or you're in the accumulation phase and you're saving on a regular basis, you should be dollar cost averaging every single day and every single month. as you're near retirement, based on what your income needs are going to be. this is something that a lot of people don't pay attention to. when you're in retirement, you need cash flow from your portfolio. if you can build a portfolio that doesn't matter what's happening day-to-day and generating cash field every day, that's important. build an investment plan that does that. >> thanks very much for your time. >> thank you. what are your plans for new year's eve? we'll tell you how they will ring in 2013 in other parts of the world and some of these traditions may surprise you.

five, four, three, two -- >> the traditional new year's kiss at the stroke of midnight. a universal custom that happens around the world, but not the only way to ring in the new year. want to hear more about the world's other interesting and quirky moments to ring in the new year. with me, nadia. so, in other parts of the world, they don't just kiss, do they? >> no, spanish celebrate something which means the new year and what they do, men dress up as vikings to -- >> why is that? >> to celebrate their viking ancestry and they literally light torches and you can see

torches in scotland and hundreds of thousands of people come and celebrate this moment. >> now, that's an event. >> that is an event. >> another huge party happens in brazil. every year we always see brazil and say, they know how to party. >> wouldn't it be nice to go to the beach -- >> especially right now. >> that would be lovely. where people, as you can see, dress up in white and the reason for white is that it's a symbol of peace and the idea of purity to have a peaceful, pure year. there you see somebody throwing flowers and they light candles and play tribute to the goddess of water and the beautiful fireworks and grand celebration in brazil. >> what is it about brazil that ringing in the new year is just such a fascinating, awesome thing to watch. >> they really get into the moment. something magnificent about seeing hundreds of thousands of people all dressed in white. just the spectacle of that. >> new year's in spain, it also

has an interesting tradition. it involves grapes only because the grapes sitting right here. tell me about this. >> yes, all people in spain on the strike of midnight do the following, a great spanish tradition. what they do is, they will start with one grape on the stroke of midnight and for every single minute, every second until the next minute have another grape. i thought we should try it and see how it goes. usually people in spain don't necessarily eat all the grapes, but we can try and, again, it's called the old knight and in the squares of madrid, they'll have the huge clocks chiming and the people in the square all together will do it collectively. so, as we hear the first chime, let's try it. >> do we have chimes? >> we have chimes. >> i'm going to choke if i eat more than one. worse yet, you can't kiss. how do they kiss? you can't answer because you're

eating these grapes. you do this well, i think you went to spain at least once for new year's eve. >> she did much better than me. >> i dropped one. >> i have 11 sitting here. >> i wonder if dropping one is symbolic in any way. >> does that mean you're going have to have a better new year than me? >> you will have another chance tomorrow night. >> it's a little tough on tv. i felt like i was going to choke. >> i feel obliged to try to get the other grape. the idea if you have a sweet grapes, it is a sweet year. if you have bitter grapes, it is a bitter year. there was an abundance of a grape crop. a great way to promote grapes. usually people peel the grapes. >> they slide down easier. >> and then in the philippine s things like sticky rice and eating long noodles so you have

a long life. >> i love that. >> and opening all your doors and windows so that the good luck comes in and then jumping high so you'll grow tall and have a high life. a lot of great traditions all around the world. >> try all the traditions at once and have good health and happine happiness. >> or we can just have a glass of champagne. >> very interesting, to say the least. you can spend the final hours of 2012 and beginning of 2013 with anderson cooper and cath ay griffin. that is always fun to watch. kathy griffin and anderson cooper together, you can't beat it. two parent face a financial hurdle as they prepare for their infant daughter's surgery. that's when an officer steps in to help. our affiliate kotv is in albuquerque with the story. >> reporter: the afternoons have been more than chilly in

albuquerque lately. on thursday around 4:30 p.m., it was about 35 degrees and someone called the cops when they noticed a couple panhandling at a bus stop with their baby. >> the caller was concerned that the baby was out in the cold weather. >> reporter: the baby a 2 1/2-year-old girl bundled in blankets and looking up at officer hernandez with her big blue eyes. >> the first thing i thought when i saw her from the simpsons, she looked like little star all bundled up. >> reporter: why panhandle in the cold with a young child. their story checked out and tugged at officer hernandez's heart strings. >> they were panhandling to get enough money for one of the parents to follow the rest of the family to the hospital in denver. >> reporter: the little girl already had heart surgery and her follow up appointment is in denver soon. the family had enough money for the girl and the mother and all they needed was a bus ticket. officer hernandez bought one

way. >> what made you do that? >> i have a child that was recently diagnosed with epilepsy and i know how hard it can be when you have to deal with medications and additional care and it puts a burden on the family and that's pretty much. >> our thanks to anna for that report. with the new year comes new laws. from marijuana to marriage and so much more. a look at what's legal and what's not in 2013.

all right. everybody. time to get ready for the week ahead. tomorrow lawmakers are expected to vote on the fiscal cliff. the question is, will they? without a deal, households will have to shell out more in taxes. on average about $3,500 more a year. also monday, yay, new year's eve. catch live celebrations from around the world right here on cnn. our very own anderson cooper and comedian kathy griffin live in times square. tuesday, sleep in, it's

2013. the first day of the new year. wednesday is really the interesting big day to watch because if we go off the cliff, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts. they'll take effect. one part of the fiscal cliff that everyone agrees on is avoiding going over the cliff. we could see the reaction on wednesday, especially see the reaction if we do go over the cliff with the markets. now, on thursday, it's also a busy day because in washington, the 113th congress is going to be sworn in. john boehner elected to his second term as house speaker. if everybody can play nice and solve the country's problems, not just right now with the fiscal cliff, but in the new year when a whole host of other issues come to visit us. so, with the new year just days away but the change of the calendar year comes lots of changes in state laws. here's what we're going to be looking at, here's a look at what will be legal and illegal in the new year.

>> well, alison, some laws made headlines. gay marriage was passed in maryland and maine and the recreational use of marijuana was passed in colorado and washington state. wait, there's more. much more. let's start with the laws that take effect on january 1st. so, in illinois and california, employers may no longer force their employees to post their accounts. speaking of job seekers, let's check out oregon. employers are not allowed to advertise a job listing in that state unless they are willing to hire the unemployed. in iowa, arsenic is banned in chicken feed. in california, this one made headlines, too. that state is now banning the treatment aimed at changing the sexual orientation of anyone under the age of 18. and on the othlighter side, a n law in illinois helping protect

the species. trade of shark fins is now legal in illinois. in florida, if you own a swamp buggy, you don't need to register it as a motor vehicle. in kentucky, illegal to release a wild hog into the wild. yes, that's what the new law says. in 2013 some folks may see a bump in their paycheck. in ten states they decided to raise the minimum wage. alison, back to you. >> our thanks to stacy cohan. do you watch "modern family" ever wonder where those crazy and hilarious story lines come from. one producer will share his secrets with us in the next hour. it's a cnn exclusive. that's some shot. that's spooky. ♪

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new york city's first ever casino is cashing in. celebrating a very big first year. plenty of slot machines and even lucky winners to be found, but as richard roth found out, there is one little thing missing. >> did you win? >> i won! >> reporter: i took that as a yes. it is really the operators of new york city's first ever casino who should be screaming. >> we're open. >> reporter: one year after its grand opening, the joint is jumping. resorts world casino is the biggest winner in its own house. >> this is very good. pleasantly surprised with the warm up we got from the community. >> reporter: so popular -- >> 20 bucks. >> reporter: resorts world located near jfk airport has taken in more slot machine revenue than any other casino in america. >> pennies, nickels, any slot there is to play. >> reporter: oh, they play here.

$700 million in revenue in 14 months. the casino is owned by a group out of malaysia. the largest gambling operator in england and southeast asia now the king of queens. here's why. >> i go to this casino in queens because it's close to home. >> reporter: this is a free shuttle picking up casino goers at nearby transit hubs. the bus represents a gambling migration. new yorkers are not trekking a few hours out of town to atlantic city and connecticut casinos. >> more easy. this time i play and i'm back home. >> reporter: did you used to go to atlantic city. if so, why do you come here now? >> first of all, much more convenient and i don't have all that driving. >> reporter: resorts world will take new york, but, still wants, well, the world. >> we want to atrack other people here from other players. we want to build a resort and an

experience. >> reporter: resorts world doesn't have it all yet when it comes to table games. machines, not humans spill the roulette wheel and roll the dice. you can still find human beings and some winners. because my bag was near you. that's my bag there. that brought you good luck. that's all right. richard roth, cnn, new york. >> she's excited. i want to show you something. pedro and buddy, the so-called gay penguins at the toronto zoo. guess what, they're dads now. they have been life partners. the zoo staff separated them so they could mate with females and just in time for the new year, they're proud fathers of baby pengu penguins. a real shot in the arm, that's what former president george h.w. bush, that's what he called a special serenade that he got by the country group the oak ridge boys.

♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound ♪ >> and the band gave the performance via phone after being contacted by former first lady barbara bush. they first met 30 years ago, but that was when bush was vice president. but bush was moved out of the intensive care unit yesterday. so, he's improving. a pizza delivery man kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint by his customers. police say when the 51-year-old arrived that home to deliver the pie, the suspects restrained him with duct tape and put him in the furutrunk of his car. they drove 20 miles and dropped him off. the victim's car is still missing, but he's still delivering pizzas in a borrowed car. an animal right's group has paid out a settlement to the owners of ringling brothers and barnum and bailey circus. one of animal r